


The King's Garden

by Sage (the_ruined_earth_sagelord)



Series: Haikyuu!! One Shots [10]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, Angst, Did I Mention Angst?, HQ Rarepair Week, Implied/Referenced Character Death, King/Knight, M/M, but his marriage to her is a sham, ushijima kinda cheats on his wife with daichi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-13
Updated: 2016-03-13
Packaged: 2018-05-26 12:08:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6238045
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_ruined_earth_sagelord/pseuds/Sage
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The king rocked back on his heels, his hands hugging his knees. He looked up into the sky above as it darkened.</p><p>"So much for your promises," he whispered into the cool night.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The King's Garden

**Author's Note:**

  * For [phantomdieb](https://archiveofourown.org/users/phantomdieb/gifts).



> HQ!! Rare Pair Exchange 2016 UshiDai gift for Kris! <3
> 
> ahhh hello friend, I hope you enjoy this!! (I'm so sorry you got stuck with me, I turn everything into angst omg.)
> 
> Kinda unhappy with how it turned out, I was really pressed for time because work/school/life bleghh. But I hope you like it anyway :) I've never written Ushijima and barely Daichi so this was interesting lmao

 

 

 

_A knight knelt before his king, arm over his chest in a reverent salute. His head was bare, his helmet tucked under his arm out of respect for his sovereign lord. A broadsword was strapped to his back, neatly sheathed in His Majesty’s presence. By the king’s side, a queen whose beauty was known throughout the land stood pale and staunch, her lips pursed in thought. The king’s back was turned to the knight, to the lords of the court, to the great hall, to the world. He stared up at a tapestry, far, far above, on the wall behind the Wood Throne. It depicted a single knight, a champion, in battle with a ferocious dragon, slaying the monster with his sword even as the beast’s fire consumed his body. The king turned at last, and the court held its breath, the kingdom waited, and none but the knight saw the tears in his master’s eyes…_

 

***

“So you will go, then? To fight.”

Daichi’s eyes blinked open in surprise. He turned his head, the warm sunlight he’d been standing in dappling his face with streaks of gold. When he saw who’d sneaked up behind him and spoken, he dropped to one knee immediately.

“Your Majesty,” he murmured. He looked up. “King Ushijima.”

The king stared down at Daichi. “Rise, Sir Sawamura,” he intoned in his baritone, his voice thrumming through the garden. Daichi leapt to his feet, as fast as the heavy armor he wore would allow him. He inclined his head respectfully.

“I did not mean to intrude on your garden, Majesty,” Daichi began, his cheeks reddening. “I merely wanted to see the flowers again. Before I go,” he said softly.

Ushijima tilted his head, the simple gold circlet on his brow glinting in the sunlight. “I see,” he said.

Daichi smiled, turning back to the garden before them. “It is a beautiful place, my lord,” he said. “You and the queen have grown a spectacular grove. The lords of the palace court all gossip about it, saying you must have used some kind of magic to make the flowers so beautiful.” He glanced at the king. “But I’ve seen you here, walking among the plants and flowers, taking the time to care for each one. It is no magic; merely the hand that cultivates them, the same hand that guides this kingdom. We are lucky to have a king such as you, my lord.” He bowed his head again.

Ushijima didn’t look at him. His eyes were fixed on a tree at the other end of the garden.

“How long are you going to talk like nothing is wrong, my knight?”

The knight stiffened, and his smile froze. “My king,” he started, but Ushijima held up a hand, and the knight clamped his mouth shut immediately.

The king looked at his hand, at the way Daichi submitted when he raised it. He reached out the hand and placed it on the knight’s shoulder, the steel of his armor cool to the touch. But beneath that cold metal was warm flesh, a living, breathing life.

“You are not a weapon,” Ushijima said quietly, and Daichi’s eyes widened. He swallowed and threw back his shoulders. His fists clenched at his side.

“But I have to be, Your Majesty,” Daichi said. His mouth felt dry saying the words, repeating the lines his father had taught him long ago. “That is what it means to serve the court. I must be a weapon for the king. I will lay down my life in service to the kingdom’s benefit. If it means going out to fight that _thing_ , my lord, then I will gladly do it.” Daichi’s chest puffed out proudly underneath his armor. “That is what it means to serve you, King Ushijima.”

Ushijima looked at his knight and frowned, lines creasing at the corners of his eyes. “But you are weak, Sawamura.”

Daichi looked up, surprised. “M-my lord,” he stammered.

“You will not survive against that monster,” Ushijima continued. “You are only a man. That thing…it’s annihilated half of the Ushiji Forest so far. My family, my dynasty’s line, has protected the forest with our Wood Throne for centuries. But never in our kingdom’s history have we faced something like this. This thing…it is a demon, Sawamura.” Ushijima’s eyes were steel traps, hard and cold, glaring at the glass ceiling around the garden, the light filtering through in golds and greens and blues, illuminating the peace below with warmth.

“You will die if you fight it,” the king said with heavy finality.

The knight smiled sadly. “We will _all_ die if someone does not,” he countered quietly. “Even if I do not make it, I will have inspired the younger generations. I will show them that no matter what monster is at our kingdom’s doorstep, the king will protect his people, and his knights will boldly stand between him and any threat that dares shake its ugly head at us.” Daichi’s voice had risen, and he proudly exclaimed the last words, the boldness of his voice carrying through the garden.

Ushijima turned to his knight, his brave champion, and the knight cringed when he saw his master’s face.

The king was crying.

“Your Highness—”

“Daichi,” the king said, using his knight’s name, and Daichi froze, his eyes widening. Ushijima reached out his hand again, but this time he didn’t touch the cold metal. He reached out to his knight’s face, warm and sturdy and alive. He touched Daichi’s cheek, cupping his rough hand around the knight’s strong jaw. Daichi closed his eyes, leaning into the touch.

“Wakatoshi,” Daichi murmured, using his king’s name as well. “Not here. Someone could see…”

“Let them see us then,” Ushijima whispered. He pulled Daichi’s face towards his. They were close, very close, and even the chill of the metal armor between them couldn’t dampen the heat radiating off their bodies as they touched their foreheads together, Daichi’s hands coming up to grasp Ushijima’s fingers on his cheeks.

“Do you think I care,” Ushijima whispered, his breath hot on Daichi’s face, “if they see us together? My marriage to the queen is for show—she and I understand that, we always have. _What do I care if anyone sees us now?_ I may never see you alive in this palace again, you damned, brave fool.” His tears were heavy now, burning on both their cheeks. He looked into Daichi’s eyes, and the knight’s chest tightened when he saw the watery smile his king gave him through fiery tears. “I love you too much to care, my knight.”

_My knight._

Daichi closed his eyes, allowing the pleasure of hearing his king claim him tickle along his spine. He belonged to his sovereign lord, body and soul. But his heart belonged to the man beneath the crown, to Wakatoshi. To his lover. His friend.

“I will be lost without you, Daichi,” Ushijima whispered into his knight’s ear. “Don’t go.”

Some selfish part of Daichi’s heart tugged at his conscience, and the image of curling around Ushijima flickered through his mind, curling around his king and never letting go, never riding out to face the monster that ravaged the kingdom beyond the safety of the palace walls. Some selfish part inside the knight shifted, sighed deep in the core of his bones, gripped his gut and clutched at his chest. Some selfish part of him hesitated, and he decided right then he wanted to stay.

He didn’t want to leave his king’s side.

“That is exactly why I need to go,” Daichi whispered. “Because I don’t want to. This is my test as a knight. I pledged myself to the crown, Your Majesty. I must defend the court, you and the nobles and the queen. I will defend this palace ‘til my last breath.”

Ushijima pulled away from Daichi, shaking his head, face wet and flushed. He put his palms on the knight’s breastplate, his fingers spreading over the plates of metal. He shook his head and shook his head, the heavy brows of the king like thunderclouds storming over an angry sea. The gold circlet around his head twinkled in the sunlight.

“But why must you give up your life, Daichi?” Ushijima stroked one finger along the line of Daichi’s jaw, staring into his eyes.

Daichi smiled sadly. “Because it was a life worth living, so it is a life worth sacrificing for those I love.” His smile grew slightly. “I loved you too, my lord. I always have.” He bowed his head. “And I always, always will.”

“Daichi,” Ushijima whispered.

“My king,” Daichi breathed back, his eyes closing.

Ushijima leaned in fast, his fingers finding Daichi’s jaw again, grasping and needy, and Daichi fell into him, and their mouths met somewhere in the middle, clashing fiercely, tears streaming down their cheeks and mingling on their tongues, the salt mixing with their whimpers and sobs. They kissed as the sunlight shifted through the boughs of trees and ivy leaves, drowning them in warm rays of gold. The sky fell away, the world vanishing for a moment of eternity hanging on the edge of a yellow petal falling to the ground, its delicate skin split from the force of their connection in the center of the garden. Ushijima grabbed at Daichi, pulling him in deeper, and Daichi titled his head, feeling his king’s calloused, gentle fingers hold the back of his neck, tracing every inch of skin, every soft hair. So he could remember.

“Wakatoshi,” said the queen’s voice from outside the grove, and the king and his knight broke apart, Daichi flinging himself to his knees at the king’s feet. Ushijima looked bewildered, his eyes wet and angry, glaring up at the queen as she entered the garden, strolling up to him.

“Come to see off your favorite knight?” she asked, her voice calm and precise.

“Indeed, my lady,” Ushijima said, his voice wavering. He rubbed his hand roughly over his eyes. “It is…a dangerous quest he has to undertake. I’ll…I’ll be only a moment more. I’ll walk with you then.” He was struggling to keep his voice composed.

The queen nodded once, her movements sharp as a bird’s. She reached down and lightly touched Daichi’s shoulder. He wondered if she could detect the ghost of her own husband’s touch on his armor.

“It is a great thing you will do for the kingdom, Sir Sawamura,” she said. “We could all use some of your courage.” 

Daichi bowed his head. “Thank you, Your Majesty. You words are too kind for a simple knight.”

She hesitated. “Fight well,” she said softly. “Defender of the realm.”

He looked up into her eyes. “I will return with that beast’s head, or not at all, my lady.”

He pretended not to see how Ushijima stiffened behind the queen, how his hands curled into fists, his eyes watering again, his face growing sad once more.

_You’ve made your king cry again, Daichi_ , he chastised himself. _You really are a fool._

The queen nodded to Daichi and moved away, wandering through the garden, but still within sight of the two men.

Daichi stood, turning to face his king for the last time. Careful not to let the queen see, Ushijima twined his fingers through Daichi’s, taking his knight’s hand in his large ones.

“I could ride out with you to face it,” Ushijima started, but Daichi shook his head, a small smile on his tired, sad face. He leaned forward and kissed his king again, softly, warm and gentle.

“I would never let you, Wakatoshi,” he whispered into the corner of the king’s mouth. “I would never forgive myself if something happened to you. The kingdom needs you. It does not need me.”

“ _I_ need you,” Ushijima breathed, his eyes locked on Daichi’s.

Daichi’s smile brightened. “I know,” he hummed quietly. “I need you too, my king.” He bowed his head, backing away from Ushijima. He placed one hand over his chest, right above his heart. “Which is why I will carry you in my heart during my battle.” He looked up, staring into the king’s eyes, a wild storm held behind the black depths of his eyes. Ushijima couldn’t breathe, feeling himself dawn into that storm. “I will have you with me, always, Wakatoshi.”

Ushijima swallowed the lump in his throat, banishing the tears that threatened to start again. He raised his hand, beckoning Daichi to come forth and kneel. The knight did so, his face solemn, his lips pressed together, perhaps in reverent silence, perhaps trying to keep back tears of his own.

Ushijima placed his hand on the top of Daichi’s head, murmuring soft words to him, blessing him and his quest in the manner the king was meant to. When he finished, his grip on the knight’s head softened, and his hand lowered to caress Daichi’s cheek.

“Come back to me alive, my knight,” Ushijima whispered.

Daichi glanced up. “I shall, my king,” he promised.

The knight stood, the golden sunlight shining around him like a halo of soft fire. He turned, his jaw clenched, and marched out from the garden into the light of the day, his back broad and heavy with grief. He didn’t once turn to look back.

Ushijima watched his knight go. He kept watching long after Daichi had disappeared from sight, long after the queen had retired back inside the palace, long after the day’s light and faded, and the garden was cast into purple shadows. Then, he too turned from the garden, walking back to his palace, never turning to look back.

 

***

_The news that the monstrous dragon had defeated another champion spread faster than the beast’s wild fire, and the palace was buzzing with activity and worry, the lords wondering who they could possibly send out next to defeat the monster that threatened their kingdom. The king was never to be found at those meetings, and only the queen knew where he was. He was deep in his garden, wandering amongst the glades and ivy brambles and trees of strong oak and fields and fields of flowers as bright as blood, as fresh as dawn’s light. Often, he stared to the west, waiting for the sun to sink below the horizon, watching the last drop of golden light vanish behind the mountains far away. His eyes searched and searched those western skies as the light dragged its gentle fingers across the clouds. But he never found what he was looking for in the azure skies or the purple mountains far in the distance._

_He glanced down at one of the flowers in his field as he walked through it, lifting his robes carefully as he knelt to examine it. Its petals were withered, and its stalk had wilted. The flower was dying._

_The king rocked back on his heels, his hands hugging his knees. He looked up into the sky above as it darkened._

_“So much for your promises,” he whispered into the cool night._

_He walked back to the palace, holding his head high. Only the trees saw the tears on his face._

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> *bows*
> 
> scream with me about angsty volleyball boys @ legendarysagehalfblood.tumblr.com


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